>> this is "bbc world news." -- ""bbc world news america." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering

specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is abc world news america -- "bbc world news america," reporting from washington. the u.s. embassy in sanaa is under attack as protests spread to the middle east. the afghan army is making progress, but the government is not. can it survive when nato forces leave? his footsteps won the space race. today, hundreds gathered to pay a final tribute to astronaut neil armstrong.

>> welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and also around the globe. u.s. warships are sailing to the coast of libya following the coast -- the death of the american ambassador. american embassies around the world are ramping up security. in yemen, those measures might be too late. protesters in the yemeni capital reached the embassy walls today. it is continuing fallout of a film produced in america that muslims see as an insult to the prophet muhammed. from the libyan capital, tripoli, are middle east editor now reports. >> the american embassy in, yemen's capital -- in sanaa, mn's capital, is heavily fortified. the anger spreading across the region about the anti-muslim

film is deepened by the belief that somehow that america and its western friends would do damage to islam however they can. in cairo, violence continued around the american embassy. he is saying, "the film is not the first instance. there have been so many. there should be an international law to stop insults to islam." all this is a reminder that religion and politics are often the same thing in the middle east, and another sign that overthrowing dictator is that -- over during dictators does not produce a region that was to be more like the west. he did president mohamed morsi, is doubling condemnation of the film -- egypt's president, mohamed morsi, it is dealing with condemnation of the film and condemnation of the violence. >> we are not -- we are against those acts. >> address have been made in

benghazi -- arrests have been made in benghazi. it is not clear whether this was a planned attack. president obama is campaigning for reelection. he condemned the violence. >> i want those around the world to hear me who would do less harm -- no act of terror will go unpunished. it will not deny the life for the values that we boston the light of the values we proudly present to the rest of the world -- it will not dim the light of the volumes that we proudly -- of the values we proudly present to the world. >> somebody made an offensive film, but that does not justify these actions against americans or american embassies. people can demonstrate an express their opinion

peacefully -- demonstrate and express their opinion peacefully. >> among the people, america and its western allies cannot expect much influence or even much trust. there used to be protest against the west before the arab uprisings. the difference then was that they were kept in check by the authoritarian leaders of police states who depended on western support. for the regions being transformed an old red lines have gone -- but the regions are being transformed an old, red lines have gone. >> i spoke with congresswoman jane harman. thank you for joining me. you spent much of your career on capitol hill, working on intelligence issues. the attacks appear to have come out of nowhere.

do we have the kind of intelligence and can predict this sort of thing -- intelligence that can predict this sort of thing? >> we are getting better at it. we are understanding the power of social media. we ought to understand that things like this video, which i had no part of, might fall under the category of incitement to violence. our supreme court has held almost 100 years ago that there -- the first amendment, our freedom of speech piece of our constitution does not give an absolute right to generate panic in a crowded movie theater. clearly, videos like this are generating panic. i have no hesitation condemning this video and in expressing concern about whether things like this, even if they are just a small group of people that we haven't even fully identified in our country, should be able to be put on youtube.

>> do you think that governments in the region are strong enough in the wake of the arab spring to protect foreign diplomats and foreign embassies? you were in egypt during the election. is there more america could do to help strengthen, for example, the egyptian government? >> governments have an obligation to protect those forthis. all these embassies are of foreign entity inside their countries -- to protect those foreign spaces. all these embassies are a foreign entity inside their countries. i heard a quote from president mohamed morsi. he is straddling two audiences. i think he did it very well. i think he made it clear that he condemned the violence not only in his country, but also in libya, and that his government

will be out in force. it is regrettable that 70 people, according to your report, were killed in egypt today. and the embassy is vulnerable if the host government will not protect us. >> back in march, you wrote, "what is the u.s. plan went on rest destabilizes countries like yemen and libya -- when unrest destabilizes countries like yemen and libya?" >> to make it clear that americans are resolved to avenge those who kill u.s. citizens on foreign soil. we are also resolved to show strength and make clear that we stand on the side of freedom in the world. let's understand that we do not know who in libya launched this vicious attack on our consulate, but it could be, as david ignatius suggest today, that

extreme groups are using things like this video, which, as i said, i think is an incitement of violence, to try to stabilize the more moderate, elected governments that are -- tried to destabilize the more moderate, elected governments that are now running their countries. >> jane harman, thank you for joining me. in other news from around the world, the un and arab league peace envoy lakhdar brahimi says that the deadly conflict in syria is getting worse. he was speaking as he arrived on his first official trip to the country since he took up his job. during his three-day visit to syria, he is expected to hold his first meeting with president bashar al-assad and to speak to members of the syrian opposition. an official report into the sinking of the caustic and 40 off the coast of italy earlier this year -- the coast the consortia -- the costa concordia earlier this year off

the coast of italy but most of the blame on the ship's captain -- an official report into the sinking of the costa concordia earlier this year off the coast of italy puts most of the blame on the ship's captain. british defence secretary philip and says he is reassured that political leaders are not -- phillip hammond says he is reassured that political leaders aren't taking steps -- >> this is one of afghanistan's few success stories -- a competent, well-equipped army, trained by british and other western forces. there have been occasional attacks by rogue forces. the government has announced new measures to prevent them. inspectors say they are not worried. >> we have a close and common bond with a lot of these soldiers. by knowing each other, that's one of the keys in being able to

counter this stress. >> ordinary life is not a success story at all. it is a fierce struggle a. things are improving, at least in the cities, but it is painfully slow. and everybody knows that corruption is rampant. three years ago, he campaigned against corruption in the presidential election. unexpectedly, he came in third. >> the question is general. it is not an mp or judge or prosecutor. it is a problem of all afghan states. >> is the afghan state to ramshackle to survive -- too ramshackle to survive? britain's defense secretary was here to talk about the attacks on western soldiers, but he also

wanted to check on the help of the government. he found that president hamid karzai as root problems. two of his top ministers have been sacked. no one knows who will come after him. yet he remains grimly optimistic. >> we will have an election -- a free and fair election. if that happens, a fair and free election, the country will be in good hands. >> but that is a pretty big "if." >> i think it's clear that the political structures are more fragile than the military that is being built up. the afghan forces are becoming effective, competent, and some of the political structures are lagging. >> despite the anxiety about a

growing political vacuum here, the real problem is that the afghan army simply will not be able to get rid of the taliban altogether without american and british help. that means that the civil war here could simply drag on and on and on. bbc news, kabul. >> you're watching "bbc world news america." the income gap between america's richest and poorest hit a new high. we featured guests who are trying to make the war on poverty a top priority. india's supreme court has rejected a demand by anti- nuclear protesters to stop fuel being loaded into a new nuclear plan, sparking fresh demonstrations -- plant, sparking fresh demonstrations. >> a sea of protesters off the

southern indian coast, women and children among them, trying to prevent the move to load uranium into the reactor in the neighboring russian-built nuclear power plant. heavy security is in place to prevent them from getting anywhere close to it. on monday, the protests turned violent. the clashes that followed -- in the clashes that followed, police opened fire. one demonstrator was killed. this is an area that suffered heavily during the 2004 asian tsunami. there are fears there could be a repeat of the fukushima disaster. local residents believed it would destroy the environment and their way of life. fishermen fear their livelihood could be damaged. the government says the fears are exaggerated and it blamed non-government foreign organizations for creating panic.

>> [indiscernible] >> this is the first nuclear plant to be commissioned after a landmark deal signed with the united states in 2008. the government is desperate to see it through. india is one of the world's fastest-growing economies, but it also faces a major shortage of power. it is looking for new energy sources for its factories, businesses, and to cater to the needs of its rapidly-growing population. the government believed that nuclear power is one way to address this gap. as is evidenced, not everyone believes it is the only solution. bbc news, delhi. >> it was music to the ears of traders on wall street when the u.s. federal reserve announced bold steps today to help stimulate the american economy. the measures included buying $40

billion worth of mortgage debt per month until the outlook for jobs improves. at the same time, the fed lowered its growth forecast for this year. we have the details. >> business is booming for this country based in five u.s. cities. all of the 75 workers who have been employed in the last two years are the lucky ones. 12.5 million of their parallel -- their fellow americans are unemployed. the real number is probably a lot larger. many have just stopped bothering to look. america's central bank has decided on more controversial actions. it will send -- spend $40 billion a month buying mortgage securities. they will keep interest rates very low until it works. >> the idea is to quicken the recovery, to help the economy began to grow quickly enough to generate new jobs -- begin to grow quickly enough to generate new jobs and reduce the

unemployment rate. >> on wall street, as news of the fed action broke, stocks jumped to their highest level in five years. the dow jones was up more than 200 points. >> it is a really big move by the federal reserve. the fed has been living in a fairly small steps blas two years. -- been moving in fairly small steps the last two years. what they are doing now is acknowledgement that the economy faces much more severe difficulty. >> not everyone approves. the republican presidential candidate, mitt romney, condemned what he saw -- called in effective measures, adding america should be creating wealth, not printing dollars -- called ineffective measures, adding that america should be creating wealth, not printing dollars. >> as they have more money, it increases their need for

services like ours. >> jobs probably matter more than anything else in this election year. most people probably will not worry about the complex mechanisms for the pros and cons of the ideology behind it, if this works. there is no certainty of that. bbc news, washington. >> with authorities pulling out all the stops to give the economy a boost from a recent figures by the u.s. census bureau -- give the economy a boost, recent figures by the u.s. census bureau show the number is unchanged. there are 46.2 million people below the poverty line, near the one in six americans. just over 16 million children fall into that group. the number of families in poverty totals 9.5 million. despite these statistics, is the problem enough of a priority? prof. of cornell west -- a professor of cornell west and

his gropu -- >> you say that poverty is the new normal in america. how do we not know this is just part of the cyclical, economic downturn? >> the downturn has certainly contributed to poverty, but we have such escalating levels of the quality and intensity of the increase of the inequality -- of inequality and the intensity of the increase of the inequality. we have so many of our very, very well trained personnel trying to find jobs live lives of decency in the richest nation of the world. >> the american story is that you can arise out of poverty, that there is social mobility in this country as there is not in other countries. are you suggesting that is fiction, not a true story? >> i'm suggesting america it is

in denial about a number of things, including this concept of american exceptionalism, as you know. one is labelled almost anti- american to be raising the notion of whether or not american exceptionalism is still the order of the day. when one out of two americans is in or near poverty -- there are three groups that make up the port. the perennially poor. near poor. and the new poor. the former middle-class that we refer to as the new poor. the american dream, for so many people, has become a nightmare. george carlin, the american comedian, said, they call it the american dream because you have to be asleep to believe in it. >> at the top of the pile, you're sure of the gdp has grown enormously over the last 20 years. >> unfortunately, we have too many -- they make the pro bowl

in the book -- the point in the book that america has less equality of opportunity than any other advanced industrialized society. it does not mean that there are not some possibilities for people to do very well, especially in entertainment and some highly visible positions. when you look at the structure of institutions, in america, we have less equality in a partition and britain and other nations. >> what are the policies -- less equality in opportunity than britain and other nations. >> what are the policies that you want to see laid out? >> the wall street government is very much tied to the well-to- do. he is much better than mitt romney, i want to make that clear. the point is that we now need some robust, progressive, a vision -- robust, progressive

vision and action. massive investment in education, infrastructure. >> given how polarized american politics is, the kind of policies you're writing about in your books, it is it possible to see them implemented in this country right now? >> i think so. so many americans are wrestling with poverty right now. >> but they are the kind of people who do not vote. >> that has been historically true. the poor typically do not matter. they are invisible because they do not vote, they do not make big campaign contributions, and both parties are owned by big business, big banks, and big money. the new poor are the former middle-class. not just brown and black folk, but white folks. educated, talented men and women in this country who played by the rules, went to school, work that the job, lost their home,

lost their savings. poverty is no longer color-coded in america. one of the reasons that mr. obama and mr. romney have to address this burgeoning problem is because you cannot just talk about the middle class anymore. 150 million people in this nation are wrestling with poverty in some shape or form. >> tavis smiley, cornell west, thanks so much for joining us. now to the final farewell held today for u.s. astronaut neil armstrong. in 1969, his steps on the moon put him in the history books. today, dignitaries gathered at washington boss national cathedral for a special memorial. armstrong -- at washington's national cathedral for a special memorial. armstrong died last month, but his legacy lives on. >> the national cathedral stretches toward the sky -- a reminder that people only thought they would reach the

heavens in the afterlife. then came the space program and neil armstrong. he may have made a giant leap for mankind, but his friends say he thought he was just doing his job. >> i think he, indeed, had been put on earth to fly. remember his reply when somebody asked him what it was like to walk on the moon? well, he said, "you know, pilots relief for her -- pilots really prefer to fly." that's neil armstrong. >> ♪ fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars ♪ >> one of the cathedral's stained-glass windows is a tribute to the apollo 11 mission. in bed with bennett, a tiny moon rocks more than 3 billion -- in vetted -- embedded in it, tiny

moon rocks more than 3 billion years old. >> david scott flew with neil armstrong on july 9 8, for -- on gemini 8. >> he is the standard. we know how to look up to somebody, how it should be done. >> the eagle has landed. >> the enormity of neil armstrong's legacy is best explained by the man himself. >> it's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> bbc news, washington. >> neil armstrong, who just loved to fly and changed the world doing it. that brings our show to a close. you can get updates on all of

our stories on our website. find us on twitter. from all of us here at "bbc world news america," thanks for watching. do tune in tomorrow. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our

relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.